Shower header-type spray devices commonly are used in many industrial applications, such as for directing cleaning fluids onto rollers in pulp and paper mills and spraying cooling liquids onto processed metals in steel mills. Such spray devices include an elongated header having a plurality of laterally spaced spray nozzles which are adapted for directing a curtain of liquid onto the processing line. Since a single processing line can include a multiplicity of such header-type shower spraying systems, significant cleaning, cooling, or other processing fluids can be used. To conserve processing fluid, it is common to collect the liquid during the course of a processing cycle, filter out the debris and contaminants from the fluid during a recycling process, and to reuse the liquid. Nevertheless, some solid particles and matter can pass through the filtering system which over time can plug or impede liquid flow through one or more of the spray nozzles in the header.
It is known for shower headers to include an elongated cleaning brush which can be rotated to cause bristles of the brush to move across and clean the discharge orifices of the spray nozzles in the header. To facilitate such cleaning, the nozzles are mounted within respective recesses or pockets in the underside of the header and the discharge orifices thereof of the nozzles formed in upwardly protruding domes of the nozzles. The nozzles are tightly secured and retained in respective pockets by locking rings. While such nozzles lend themselves to easy brush cleaning, from time to time it still is necessary to remove the nozzles because of clogging, wear, or replacement with nozzles of a different discharge orifice design for a particular spray application. After being in service for some time, the nozzles can become stuck in the mounting pocket by reason of material buildup or high temperature adhesion to an adjacent ceiling gasket, making removal difficult. In many cases, the nozzle is irreparably damaged in the removal process.